The new rates will take effect on December 15, 2025. Usage between December 15, 2025 and January 15, 2026 will be billed at the new rate for the bill you will receive at the end of January 2026.

• Residential Time-of-Use members will see a $5.00 per month increase to their access charge. (New access charge will be $33.00/month) On-Peak kWh rate will be $0.25, up from $0.22/kWh)

• Residential TOD Peak Power members will see a $5.00 increase in the monthly access charge. (New access charge will be $35.00/month, up from the current $30.00)

• Commercial and Residential members on a demand rate will see a $1.00/month increase to the demand charge, as well as a $5.00/month (single-phase) or $18.00/month (three-phase) increase to the access fee and a roughly 7.8% increase to the kWh rate.

Overall, the proposed increase is 7.6%.  Most residential accounts will see between a 5% to 12.5% change in their bills, depending on how much and when they use electricity.  All single-phase non-demand accounts have an opportunity to save with using cheaper off-peak energy instead of expensive on-peak energy.

The Access Charge recovers a portion of what it costs SMPA to make electricity available to use at our members’ homes and businesses 24 hours a day 7 days a week. This charge helps cover the costs of maintaining our electric system, wildfire mitigation, outage restoration, fixed costs buildings/infrastructure, vehicle maintenance, property taxes, finance, supplies and equipment, software, and staffing to operate the cooperative. These costs are fixed, in that they are necessary to make service available on our system as a whole – whether a consumer uses their electricity one month a year or 12 months a year.

SMPA follows a cost-of-service approach when determining its rates. This means that the cooperative calculates the cost of delivering electricity to its members, including expenses such as infrastructure maintenance, operating costs, and power supply. These costs are then divided among the members based on service size and usage patterns. Part of the costs are recovered through the Access Charge, and part of the costs are recovered through energy (kilowatt-hour) sales.

Instead of running multiple appliances that consume electricity simultaneously, stagger their run times throughout the day and set them to run at staggered times during late evening hours or throughout the night.

You are welcome to call our office to discuss your situation if you would like.

Another option is checking out 211colorado.org or dialing 211. This can get you in touch with programs in your area for aid, matching by your zip code.

You may also be eligible for the Colorado Low-income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP). Leap is a federally funded program that helps eligible Colorado families, seniors and individuals pay a portion of their winter home heating costs.

The LEAP program works to keep our communities warm during the winter (November through April) by helping with heating costs, equipment repair, and/or replacement of inoperable heating tools. While the program is not intended to pay the entire cost of home heating, it aims to help alleviate some of the burdens that come with Colorado’s colder months.

Other benefits provided by LEAP include repairing or replacement of a home’s primary heating system, such as a furnace or wood-burning stove. The program does not provide financial assistance for any type of temporary or portable heating.

To access the LEAP application and apply for the program, visit www.colorado.gov/cdhs/LEAP. You may also call the HEAT HELP line at 1-866-HEAT-HELP (866)-432-8435 to receive an application via mail or email. Applications open November 1.